Epiphany
by grimchi3f
Summary: Directly after the events of Too Far, Pearl realizes something important and acts upon that realization maybe a little more quickly than she should.


**EPIPHANY**

Pearl stood up from where she was working, wiping the sweat from her brow. The mess that Amethyst, Peridot, and Steven had all made after her and Garnet had gone to fetch supplies for the drill was all but cleaned up. She still wasn't sure how exactly the mess had happened, but there'd been no irreversible damage done, so she wasn't too worried. However, when she turned to look where she knew Amethyst and Peridot were, Pearl began to grow worried. Very worried.

Just not about the drill.

Amethyst was walking away from Peridot and Steven, smiling, and towards Pearl and the barn. That wasn't what caught Pearl's attention, however. No, it was Peridot that did that. She had a strange look on her face, one that Pearl didn't like and felt was oddly familiar. She followed Peridot's eyes to Amethyst and suddenly it clicked.

From the look on her face, it seemed Peridot was developing a sort of crush on Amethyst. Or, at the very least, was becoming enamored with her. This surprised Pearl. But even more surprising was the emotion that filled Pearl at the realization: jealousy. Why would she be jealous though? It wasn't like she herself had a crush on—

"Uh, you okay, P?"

"Whuh…?" muttered Pearl, blinking. She shook her head and looked down. Amethyst was standing in front of her, looking up at her in confusion and… had… had Amethyst always looked this _good_?

"You were just, like, staring into the distance," said Amethyst, frowning now.

"Oh, yes, well, hahaha, I'm fine, fine," Pearl replied nervously, blushing ferociously and looking anywhere but Amethyst. "I was just… thinking."

Amethyst looked at Pearl for a moment longer, the shrugged. "If you says so."

As the purple gem walked into the barn where Garnet was, Pearl just stood where she was, watching Steven and Peridot pick up the last of the debris around the yard, but not really paying attention to that. She was too lost in thought.

Pearl didn't understand why she was feeling this way. Why was a look from Peridot affecting her like this? Her emotions had gone from 0 to 60 in a split second, but _why_? So what if Peridot liked Amethyst? That was of no concern to Pearl. If anything, that was good. It might make the team stronger and help Peridot come around faster. Heck, there wasn't any proof that Peridot really had _any_ feelings for Amethyst. So why exactly did Pearl feel jealous? From a _look_ of all things? Pearl thought of Amethyst as a good friend, nothing more. No reason to get worked up or anything.

And yet…

All of Pearl's favorite memories of Amethyst flooded her head. The time they'd fused to make Opal in order to save Steven. The time at the Kindergarten after Amethyst and Steven had run away. And the time when she'd comforted and listened to Pearl after Pearl's mistake during the whole Sardonyx fiasco. As she remembered all of these things, she saw past Amethyst's rough, sloppy exterior, and found someone who was kind, caring, and… well, cute. Even beyond all that, she saw the similarities they shared; the flaws they shared. They were opposites, yet they were the same.

And suddenly, a feeling she hadn't realized she had somewhere deep in Pearl's core, one she hadn't really felt in a long time. Love. The true, soul-wrenching, life-altering kind, and the biggest difference between this time and the last time she'd felt this way was that this time she'd get her girl. And if the look on Peridot's face been any real indication, she needed to act quickly.

But how?

"Is something wrong?"

The sudden sound of Garnet's voice caused Pearl to jump. "AH! Geez, Garnet, don't sneak up on me like that…"

Garnet gave a slight smile. "Amethyst told me you were acting weird."

"Oh, heheh, it's nothing," Pearl said, blushing. "I was just…" She paused, an idea suddenly forming in her head. "Actually, Garnet, I have a favor to ask of you…"

* * *

Amethyst yawned and stretched her arms behind her head as she walked across the beach towards the Gem Temple. After a long day in which she'd been called defective, made up with the very same Gem who'd called her defective, and also helped build part of a giant drill, she was looking forward to just going to her room and conking out. At the thought of that, Amethyst smiled wearily.

As she reached the stairs to the house, Amethyst's thoughts wandered to how strange Pearl had started acting. She seemed so… weird. Like, nervous weird, especially once Amethyst had broken her out of whatever trance she'd been in. And then after Amethyst had told Garnet, Pearl had just up and left. But why though? What was up with Pearl?

But it wasn't just Pearl acting a little strange. A couple hours after Pearl left, they'd stopped working and Garnet suddenly said she was taking Steven and Peridot out for ice cream. Why? Garnet wouldn't say, and the really happy smile she'd been giving Amethyst added to her confusion. And no matter how many times Amethyst told Garnet that she wanted some ice cream too, the taller gem had refused to take her along, instead telling Amethyst to go home and rest. So that's what she did.

Amethyst's mind was still whirring by the time she got to the house's door. She gripped the handle and sighed. Whatever was wrong with Pearl, and whatever was making Garnet so happy, would have to wait until morning. Hopefully Pearl was okay; Amethyst didn't like to see Pearl hurt. With another sigh, Amethyst turned the handle and pulled the door open. What she saw on the other side though, stopped her in her tracks.

"What the heck!?"

* * *

A surprise date.

That had been Pearl's idea. After making Garnet promise to give Amethyst and her some alone time, Pearl had quickly gone back to the house to set things up. She'd put a small table for two up in the center of the one giant room and dressed it up with a tablecloth, some flowers, and a few lit candles. She cooked some food, turned off the lights until it was only candle light, and sat on one of the two chairs at the table, waiting for Amethyst, all the while butterflies fluttered in her stomach.

Luckily, she didn't have to wait long.

"What the heck!?" Amethyst had exclaimed upon opening the door and seeing what Pearl had done.

"H-hey, Amethyst!" stuttered Pearl, inwardly cursing her own nervousness. "Come sit d-down!"

" _Pearl_?" asked Amethyst, eyes focusing on Pearl, widened in shock.

"Yep!" replied Pearl, trying to force a confident smile. "Now how about you come sit down?" She gestured towards the other empty seat.

Cautiously, Amethyst did as she was asked, not taking her eyes off of Pearl for one second. "Pearl, what is this?"

"Oh, you know, just dinner." Pearl smiled nervously, looking at her hands. "Speaking of which, I'll get the food." Quickly getting up, she moved to the kitchen.

"Pearl," came Amethyst's voice, "tell me, what is this?"

Pearl picked up the two plates of spaghetti on the counter. "I-I wasn't sure what to make for dinner tonight, considering you like pretty much every—"

"Pearl, what is this?" Amethyst asked again, her voice more urgent.

"—thing. So I just decided on spaghetti because we already had the ingredients. Ha! How funny is that?"

She took the plates and went back to the table. However, as she was setting the plates down, Amethyst suddenly grabbed her hand, causing Pearl to freeze.

" _Pearl, what is this_?"

After a couple moments of silence, Pearl sighed, closing her eyes. "Amethyst, I… I'm in love with you."

The grip on her hand tightened. " _What_?" she heard Amethyst all but whisper.

Pearl opened her yes, staring at the table, unable to look at the Gem holding her hand. "Yes. I love you, Amethyst. I'm honestly surprised it took me until today to realize that. You're always here for me when I need you, and I didn't really see that until a few hours ago, but I—" She stopped herself, her eyes realized what she was saying; what she was _doing_. She facepalmed with her free hand. "Oh my stars, I'm so stupid! This is all too quick. Why am I doing this now? I should've built up to it. I should've done something more special. I should've done something different."

Finally working up the courage to look at Amethyst, Pearl turned to the purple gem and continued, "I'm so sorry for this, Amethyst. I just got so excited, I—"

Amethyst pressed a finger to Pearl's lip, silencing her, with a hopeful look in her eye. "Are… are you serious right now, P? Please tell me you aren't joking."

Pearl couldn't help but snort. "Of course I'm not joking! I wouldn't go through all this just for a stupid jo—"

In the blink of an eye, Amethyst had closed her eyes, leaned over, and kissed Pearl intensely on the mouth. Pearl's eyes bugged out in shock and whatever else she'd been about to say became a distant memory. After a couple seconds, Amethyst broke the kiss.

"I… uh… erm… um…" Pearl's mind had gone completely blank, unable to process what had just happened. "Did, uh, that just happen?"

Amethyst's face broke out into a huge smile. "Yep."

"You kissed me?"

"Oh yeah."

"So that means…"

"Definitely. For a long time now actually."

Pearl blinked. Amethyst… loved her back? That seemed… highly improbable. She needed to make sure. "Can… can we do that again?"

Amethyst smiled wider. "Thought you'd never ask."

And just like that they were kissing again. This time, though, it was Pearl who broke the kiss.

"Wait," she said, pushing Amethyst away, "you really love me, too? But… why? For how long?"

"Well, you know all those times you thought I was making fun of you?" Amethyst asked, still smiling.

"Yeah…"

Amethyst chuckled. "That was my way of trying to flirt with you, P!"

"I… oh."

The purple gem was about to pull her into another kiss when Pearl paused. "A-are you sure? Me, of all Gems? I thought, with the way Peridot was looking at you, you two might…"

"Peridot!?" Amethyst exclaimed, snorting. "No way, P! You're the only nerd I got my eye on. Now come here!"

And there they were, kissing for the third time. But this time, Pearl let herself relax and enjoy it. She had done it. Three hours ago, Amethyst had been nothing more than a great friend. Now, here they were, kissing. It boggled Pearl's mind, but funnily enough, that was okay. They had been made for each other, it felt like to her, almost as if they were two halves of the same con. Opposites, but the same. It was almost inevitable they'd end up together, she saw now.

Too soon, to Pearl at least, Amethyst ended the kiss.

"This calls for a celebration! Come on, let's go to my room," said Amethyst, getting up and pulling Pearl towards the Temple door. "We need to get to bed."

Pearl frowned. "But the food!"

"We'll eat it later."

"But I'm not tired…"

Amethyst turned her head and smiled promiscuously at Pearl. "Silly P, we're not gonna _sleep_ …"

"But then why—" It took a second, but Pearl's mind finally connected the dots. "Oooooohhhhh…"

Shaking her head happily, Amethyst opened the Temple door and quickly pulled the giggling, blushing Pearl inside with her, letting the door silently close behind them.

 **THE END**


End file.
